Waking Up Without and Alarm Clock

Over the last few months, I've made it a priority to sleep at least 7 hours each night and wake up naturally without an alarm clock. It's rather odd to think that this is something I would even need to think about doing let alone "make a priority."

For a long time, it just seemed "natural" to wake up to an alarm clock. Like it was in our DNA or something. I'm surprised it never crossed my mind that the mind will wake you up naturally when it damn well is ready too. 

It's amazing how much less groggy I am in the morning and how much more energy I have throughout the day. Apparently not getting enough sleep also increases the amount of the hormone Ghrelin in your system, which makes you hungrier. I've certainly felt less hungry than normal over the last few months as well despite working out more than I had before.

It's easier for me to make this a priority being self employed, of course. 9:00 am start times don't care much about your sleep schedule. But I would highly recommend trying to ditch the alarm clock as much as possible. Give yourself a seven (or even eight) hour window to wake up and only use the alarm clock as a backup. I think you'll be impressed by the difference it makes.

And if you're interested, I wrote an article a while back for BiggerPockets on all the advantages good sleep can give you based on the book Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker. It's definitely a book worth reading.